Mounting a pto-powered generator on a 3-pt. hitch makes it a lot easier to get power wherever you need it, says Wade Hoagland, Mercer, Penn.
"It is a lot handier," he reports. "I don't have to hook up a trailer and then hook up the pto. All I have to do is back up to the generator with the tractor and attach the hitch."
Hoagland used scrap metal he had lying around, from 3/4-in. angle iron for the frame base to 1 1/4-in. black well pipe heated and bent into U-shapes for the side frames. Some steel screening protects the side of the generator. Pieces of sheet metal were secured over the top and back of the generator. A third piece connects to the top with a piano hinge so it tips up when needed to get at the controls and connections on the front of the generator. Cross supports on the frame were placed to allow the generator to be easily bolted in place.
"I had a top link bar that I used and I used 3/4-in. pins to connect to the side arms," says Hoagland.
The most difficult part of the entire project was finding a PTO shaft that was short enough. He finally found one that was intended for use on a field sprayer at a tractor supply store.
"It has to be able to contract and extend as the unit is raised and lowered," reports Hoagland. "The generator platform works so well, I am making one for a friend. With the shrouds on, I have even used it in the rain."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wade Hoagland, 793 Greenfield Rd., Mercer, Penn. 16137 (ph 724 981-7896; email: whoagland @rothbros.com).

3-Point Generator Platform FARM SHOP Tools 29-2-39 Mounting a pto-powered generator on a 3-pt. hitch makes it a lot easier to get power wherever you need it, says Wade Hoagland, Mercer, Penn.
"It is a lot handier," he reports. "I don't have to hook up a trailer and then hook up the pto. All I have to do is back up to the generator with the tractor and attach the hitch."
Hoagland used scrap metal he had lying around, from 3/4-in. angle iron for the frame base to 1 1/4-in. black well pipe heated and bent into U-shapes for the side frames. Some steel screening protects the side of the generator. Pieces of sheet metal were secured over the top and back of the generator. A third piece connects to the top with a piano hinge so it tips up when needed to get at the controls and connections on the front of the generator. Cross supports on the frame were placed to allow the generator to be easily bolted in place.
"I had a top link bar that I used and I used 3/4-in. pins to connect to the side arms," says Hoagland.
The most difficult part of the entire project was finding a PTO shaft that was short enough. He finally found one that was intended for use on a field sprayer at a tractor supply store.
"It has to be able to contract and extend as the unit is raised and lowered," reports Hoagland. "The generator platform works so well, I am making one for a friend. With the shrouds on, I have even used it in the rain."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wade Hoagland, 793 Greenfield Rd., Mercer, Penn. 16137 (ph 724 981-7896; email: whoagland @rothbros.com).

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